Language Selection Waste Homepages
by Kristoffer Bohmann, May 30, 2001
A large number of European websites waste homepages on language selection while their American counterparts rarely commit this usability mistake. I recommend that multi-language sites use English as default.
European ecommerce and corporate sites are often available in multiple languages and require selection of language/country before entering the actual site. This makes the site less accessible to users and slow down user performance. It also leads to a competitive disadvantage since US companies rarely commit this usability mistake. I will show two examples on this problem. First, car manufacturers:
European Citroën require language selection...
www.citroen.com
... as opposed to GM who let their American users navigate the site right away.
www.gm.com
Another Example: Sport News
Europe: Sportal.com want you to select country...
www.sportal.com
... while US-based Sportsline.com show content directly on homepage.
www.sportsline.com
Purposeful Homepages
Homepages that only offer language selection do not add value to the user experience. I regard language selection as an unnecessary "transaction cost" before users can start interacting with content and place their orders on the site.
Ideally, users can see the site in the prefered language. Without language selection. And without country selection.
I have some sympathy when sites use the homepage for language selection since they try to design the page for a single purpose (good!). I agree with this rule of thumb for all other pages than the homepage (and section homepages). However, the homepage should present users to the possibilities provided by the entire site. This purpose is fundamentally different from any other page within the site.
Recommendation: English as Default
My recommendation for multi-language sites is to publish content in English on the homepage, while linking to sites in other languages in the homepage top.
Comments From Readers including:
Let the primary audience determine the default language
Language selection not always avoidable.
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About the Author
Kristoffer Bohmann (biography) M.Sc. thinks and writes about high-quality user experiences. His philosophy: Users first. You can contact him at kristoffer@bohmann.dk. |
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